Flawless Poison
by Fatti-chan
Summary: Magic tricks, not that Kristoph particularly liked them, were akin to revenge. Majority of them are carried out secretively. And Kristoph liked that, he wanted revenge, even if it was at the cost of losing his identity.


AN: I present to you another Ace Attorney fic. A big thank you to Jack54311 who gave me ideas.

Please read and review. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ace Attorney. Them quirky characters would get extra quirky.

* * *

"I thought we were friends"

"Friends? Don't make me laugh Phoenix Wright."

"…"

"Though you could do me a small favor as a _friend_ , be present at my execution will you?"

* * *

Atroquinine, a deadly poison with a consistency of water, it can be traced with only one material and the toxin lasts for years. Lethal even in minute doses, a mere two micrograms may kill a person in fifteen minutes. Kristoph Gavin meticulously poured a small amount of the substance in a bottle of clear Ariadoney nail polish. A knock on the front door, startled him and a good quantity of the poison splashed on the back of his hand. Quickly stowing the bottles away, he ignored his burning skin and proceeded to unlock the door.

In walked his younger, more glamorous brother with a frown on his face.

Hiding his searing hand, Kristoph questioned the younger Gavin on his day and got a rant in response:

"I wish Daryan would put more oomph in his playing. If the Gavinners ever fall from grace, Crescend will take full blame for it." he grumbled, absentmindedly tuning his guitar in the process.

The older Gavin adjusted his glasses and spoke:

"Since your day went horribly, allow me share some news that will aid you in your first trial" hearing this, Klavier sat up straighter, "I am sure you heard of Phoenix Wright, it has come to my attention he may present false evidence win the case. This is simply a hunch and since the trial is still far away, my conjecture might not hold." Kristoph ended his speech with a polite smile.

The budding prosecutor could not believe there were defense lawyers who'd forge evidence to win a case. At least his brother was not like them. To Klavier, Kristoph is the epitome of an attorney, calm, cool and collected he defended clients with all he had.

"…I understand, thank you for sharing this information with me." The singer got up and left the room whilst his sibling observed with an unfathomable expression. Once out of sight, the attorney examined his hand, the boiling agony had died down and imprinted a skull-shaped scar on his hand.

How ironic, he thought.

A few days following the incident, Kristoph found himself smiling his best at a young Vera Misham, who due to extreme nervousness and past trauma bit her nails. He explained his business and the reason for his visit. The poor girl simply stayed mute until he spoke about Troupe Gramarye, a trending topic. This produced remarkable results as Vera opened up to him and began speaking. The attorney ended his appointment by gifting her a bottle of nail polish, citing it as a good luck charm. He advised her not to tell anyone about his present or else the charm might wear off.

Kristoph did not notice the look of utter horror on Vera's face when she accepted the bottle. The scar scared her senseless.

As soon as his request was complied with, Gavin sent his payment and a commemorative stamp laced with poison. He left instructions for Drew, Vera's father, to send a receipt using the stamp.

He assured himself it was not murder. He was simply getting revenge for being denied what was originally his.

* * *

Phoenix Wright's fall from grace did not satisfy him. Kristoph still kept friendly ties with the disbarred lawyer because you never know when he might come handy. Now the most sought after defense attorney, Gavin saw it fit to adopt an apprentice. In walked Apollo Justice, an energetic adolescent with a penchant for screaming odd things at odd times. Caught in the flow of the boy's idiosyncrasies, he found himself relaxing for a while, however, his spirit still burned. One main target had been brought down and the other still remained at large. As soon as he was found, target number two would be

Eliminated.

The opportunity came when he found the person who humiliated him the most, a measly magician going by the stage name of Zak Gramarye. He disappeared seven years ago and now returned, parading as a traveller by the name of Shadi Smith.

He was mysteriously killed during his meeting with Wright. Of course Phoenix was suspected.

Kristoph thought murder would come easy to him. When he stepped out of his hiding place, he reveled at his victim's despaired appearance. Channeling all his hatred, he struck Shadi's head hard and watched while the man's hat fell off as he died instantaneously.

Afterwards everything went wrong. His breathing became hyperactive and bile rose in this throat, forcing his trembling hands to remain still, he put the juice bottle, his murder weapon, down and proceeded to replace the hat on the corpse. Rubbing his tingling scar, he made a quick getaway the moment he heard someone coming down the stairs.

In the gloom, Gavin sorted out his emotions as they see-sawed between elation and satisfaction. There seemed to be no regret in his emotional repertoire.

He was beginning to lose sight of himself.

The next day Kristoph proudly inspected his apprentice, Apollo, dishing out accusations against Wright in the courtroom. He felt victorious; the once famous attorney was now reduced to a murderer and at the mercy of Gavin, who naturally will take the opportunity to get rid of him permanently.

The triumph did not last.

In a surprising turn of events he found himself standing at the witness stand being accused of homicide. Gavin kept calm, however, the court was in an uproar. Justice had lost his voice due to sheer shock and the prosecutor clutched his head and stared disbelievingly at him. The police arrived, handcuffed him and began to escort him to a special cell. Stepping out of the courtroom, he heard Klavier screaming "Why?" repeatedly.

Why indeed?

Revenge. He cared not if the reason seemed petty.

The special cell was unexpectedly comfortable. Kristoph spent his days reading, plotting and applying nail polish. He was occasionally visited by his 'friend' Phoenix who stood on the other side of the bars and demanded reasons for his murder. The corrupt attorney kept silent. Eventually the calls became less frequent and changed in topics. Gavin suspected that Wright was gathering information, somehow the crafty man found about his involvement with the Misham's. Phoenix was caught red-handed trying to steal a letter, instead of feeling guilty about it; the hobo frankly stated that the entire conversation was recorded with a hidden camera.

There was no distraught in the blonde male's eyes.

* * *

The trial of Drew Misham's murder came to a harrowing standstill when Vera collapsed on the witness stand. In the emergency room, she was diagnosed with acute Atroquinine poisoning and her condition was said to be critical. One thing was bothering Klavier though, before fainting, when Vera was asked who gave the nail polish to her she replied:

"The de…vil."

'The devil'

 _The devil_

These two words rang in the prosecutor's head and he had little doubt on the identity of The devil.

At the reconvening of the trial, Apollo could not believe he was accusing his own mentor of yet another killing, but evidence was absolute and currently all pieces pointed to him. Thus the presiding judge suggested Kristoph be called to testify as a special witness as Vera was still unconscious.

Standing haughtily at the stand, the attorney adjusted his glasses and countered each and every allegation thrown at him by his 'beloved' apprentice. To his astonishment, his brother Klavier, who was supposed to defend him, joined the bellowing defense lawyer in his claims.

Apparently he could still feel betrayal and anger. How dare his brother do this to him.

In the end, all the fighting and shouting from Justice's part came to naught. There were no decisive evidence to pin the crime to Kristoph and he had plead silence to his motive for killing Shadi Smith.

This case was over.

"We still have the jurist's system. Care to use it Herr Wright?"

'What?'

Turns out the jurist's system featured a panel of six jurors who watched the proceedings from a separate room via close circuit cameras. Since the judge decided to end the trial, the final verdict was left to them. Vera Misham shall be deemed guilty or innocent by unanimous agreement.

To add salt to injury, Phoenix Wright was the one behind the Jurist system's setup.

On hearing this, Kristoph's perfect façade broke apart revealing a shrieking madmen, he sprouted nonsense about law being absolute and whatnot. His hair became disarrayed and he pounded a fist on the witness stand, giving everyone an impeccable view of his skull like scar.

Klavier's head started throbbing again as he recalled Vera's words.

"The devil"

'The devil'

 _The devil_

It described this vengeful, secretive man flawlessly.


End file.
